Sunday, March 8, 2009

TnA: Avatar Report from Comic-Con + Conversation with James Cameron

A few weeks ago when I answered my buzzing BlackBerry, I quickly recognized the voice on the other end of the line. It was Shirley Cameron - my next door neighbour and the mother of the famed director James Cameron. Without a moment to waste, she quickly explained that she was moving some furniture around her living room, and was asking me if I would be willing to help. I don't often go over there, but her artsy behaviour always amuses me, so I agreed. At one point, as I was pushing around a massive coffee table, she proclaimed, "Jimmy sent me these, but I don't even know what they are". I only managed a sideways glance, but I did see her holding up two pieces of paper. She continued, "Comic Con? Why would I want tickets to Comic Con? Oh heavens, it's in San Diego..... do you want these........?"

OMFG!! DO I WANT THESE!?!? I tried to keep my cool, but I knew I was heading to Comic Con!! Passes to Hall H included! I was going to see Avatar!!! TnA was going to see the biggest movie of all time!!! I could not believe what was happening.

Ah yes, Comic Con, the place where nerds and geeks gather to graze. All right, I won't lie, I felt like a kid in a candy store myself. For a movie nut-case, this was a slice of heaven. There was a lot of cool shit everywhere, but the buzz was clearly about Avatar. All I could think about was Pandora, Na'vi, Power Suits, as I impatiently waited in line for the theatre. And then, the moment finally came. Hear me now people, momma Cameron had some seriously awesome seats reserved for her!My fingers were tingling as I unwrapped the 3D glasses......................................

I was so excited, I couldn't even understand everything Cameron was saying when he introduced the footage. I remember he mentioned that he wasn't going to waste our time and then the next time I looked up.... I was on Pandora! And believe me, you cannot imagine what this journey was like... I wasn't watching the screen. We actually got transported onto a different planet! It was incredible... I just watched awestruck and joined with the rest of the audience in gasping at the incredible creatures, stunning characters and the wilderness of the planet!

To say that you won't believe your eyes, would be a disappointing understatement. You are not watching this film, you are living it! Sam Worthington's Jake is so marvelous, I have to think that he will immediately be put in the same category as the Dark Knight's Joker, or Tony Stark of Iron Man. This isn't just another character, this is an icon of the cinema!

But there is more in this film than Jake. Dr. Augustine, Ney'tiri, Spellman, and the rest of the characters could each become your favorite the next time you see the movie. And trust me about one thing; you will see this movie more than once. There is no sense in dropping spoilers in this article, you can find dozens of those all over the web, I am here to tell you that this movie will, as advertised, change your expectations, not only of the sci-fi genre, but of any action adventure that is scheduled to come out after it. And I wouldn't want to be a producer of any of those films.

There is no wonder Spielberg, Jackson, Ridley Scott and others have made such abrupt turns in the direction they are making movies in, after seeing Cameron's footage. Avatar is at least 10 years ahead of anything else that you've ever seen. Revenge of the Fallen seems like a stick-man drawing from a grade 2 class by comparison.

After the footage, Cameron, Saldana, Sigourney and a bunch of other douches that think they are important spoke to the audience. As you know by now the most important thing in this emotional gathering was the announcement of Avatar Day on August 21st, when the rest of the world will properly be treated to these clips in the format they are meant to be seen in.

An all new world awaits.

** UPDATE: July 23rd 2009 - 8:34AM – Best Western Hotel

Still mesmerized from the images of planet Pandora, I just wanted to finish shaving without cutting myself. I couldn’t help but smile into the mirror, remembering how the whole thing went down with the tickets, etc. My bliss was interrupted by my ringing phone. Who could it be, it’s way too early...! UNKNOWN NUMBER. Oh well....

TnA: Hello?

JC: Howdy neighbour!

TnA: James??????? (Yup, it was my old neighbour James Cameron!!!)

JC: It’s me old buddy, I hope I’m not waking you.......

TnA: No, no, I was just in the bathroom....

JC: Spare me the details! What I want to know is how you possibly scored my mom’s seats to the show! I sent her those tickets ages ago, and thought something was off when she never called me to arrange our meeting. I was surprised to see your face in her seat. Haha....

TnA: I know, I know... I’m sorry, she offered them to me, and I couldn’t resist...

JC: That’s totally cool. I’m glad you could come. So what did you think of the presentation?

TnA: I... I... it was incredible!! You weren’t kidding when you said this was going to be GROUND-BREAKING! I still can’t get over what I saw

JC: I’m happy you enjoyed yourself. Yes, I am pretty proud of what we did, and just so you know, you haven’t seen anything yet! We wanted to give everyone a good taste of what the movie is about, but we’re obviously not going to show you everything. I don’t think there is a bad scene in the movie, but WETA keeps sending us stuff that mind blowing!

TnA: I can only imagine! I did have a lot of people tell me they doubted the movie will be released on time.

JC: Haha... Don’t worry old buddy. The movie will be done with plenty of time left to spare. We have just added massive amounts of computers to our render farm, and there is no doubt at all that this movie will be done in time. All these doubters.... please! Besides, everything is set, including the video game, toys, and the IMAX... haha, the movie is coming out on December 18th, trust me.

TnA: I can’t wait to see it. Where are you?

JC: I’m just off to meet Laurent Detoc of Ubisoft for brunch. He’s an early bird that guy, but then again I couldn’t sleep, so this works just fine. We have a lot of things left in the cooker with Avatar, and it’s always exciting to talk to him. We are looking to be the leaders in the movie AND game industry over the next 5 years, so we just want to keep the conversations going.

TnA: Five years? Are the trilogy rumours true?

JC: Haha... easy my friend, curiosity killed the cat! Let’s just say that August 21st will be the first step in bringing the public on board. We’ll see what happens after that. Anyway, I have to run.... I just wanted to check in and say hey. Haha... I still can’t believe that you scored those seats.

TnA: I know, it really was incredible. Well good to hear from you, and I hope to talk to you soon.

JC: You got it. Bye

TnA: Bye

So that’s it my friends. Not an exact word for word, but basically the conversation I had earlier this morning. An SMS message from the man himself said it was OK to post this up. Maybe nothing new here, but I think there are a lot of hints! Enjoy!